In the Rough
by itarilde
Summary: He told me that my eyes were the color of violets.Then he added some of those to the roses that he had sent to me each night.They had made me feel special,my violet eyes.Well,I was still special.Only now my eyes matched the roses instead,glowing scarlet.


Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The song lyrics to "In the Rough", appearing in italics, are the property of Anna Nalick and Song BMG Music Entertainment. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This is a story about Rosalie, beginning just after she became a vampire, and spanning the time to when she finds Emmett. I listened to this song one day and just thought that it would be perfect to accompany a story like this. Enjoy!

* * *

I could smell one of them from outside of the small building, even before I opened the door. It could have been a liquor store or a cigar shop, maybe something else; I was too distracted by the scent to notice. It was one of the scents that I remembered so clearly. Everything from that night was clear; I hadn't forgotten a single moment. I had been beaten. I couldn't forget. I had been abused. I wouldn't let myself forget.

But now the smell that I remembered was laced with the sweet scent of human blood, pulsing rhythmically through their veins.

_You say you fell while holding diamonds in your hand_

The thirst was more intense than I could have ever imagined, even with Doctor Cullen's warning. But it wasn't the most intense thing. No, the most intense thing was my desire. My desire to avenge myself on these low-lifes. My desire to make these two men pay for what they had done to me.

_It's your fault for running holding diamonds, I said_

I could resist the former, my thirst. The disgust I felt at the thought of any part of them being in me again ensured that. The latter, on the other hand, I had no intention of resisting. These two men would die tonight, and then I would move on to the other three.

_And I offer no sympathy for that_

The first two had been easy. Snapping their necks rendered them useless carcasses in moments. But it was all over too quickly. I hadn't been able to enjoy their pain the way that they had enjoyed mine. I had moved in too swiftly, they had hardly realized who I was and what I was doing before the light left their eyes. I would have to do my best to not make that mistake again.

The third would be easy, too. All I would have to do was catch him on his way home from work, in the alley that he uses as a shortcut. His death would be more drawn out; I needed the practice in my resistance if I was truly going to make Royce suffer.

The remaining three, including Royce, will have heard what happened to the other two yesterday night. How they were found broken, though not bleeding, when the liquor store owner arrived at his shop this morning. It was a scandal. Not only were they dead, but the store owner discovered where his finest stock had been disappearing to. Apparently, that was what the golden boys of Rochester did on their free nights.

When they weren't being stalked by a sadistic vampiress, that is.

_I hear that it was you who died alone_

The next day, it was John's turn. He had heard about the other three, there is no doubt about it. Three mysterious deaths. No one could see any connections between them. Except for those five men who knew that there was a connection. Me. What they had done to me. Me. What I was doing to them.

That's probably why he is already on his way back to Atlanta. He is trying to escape. But he doesn't even know what he is trying to escape from. His car can't exceed my newfound speed. I'll catch him and he'll pay for his role in the loss of my innocence. It was his fault. Mostly.

John's death was going to be even slower. Better. For me, at least. I'm sure he would prefer his death to be quick and nearly painless, like the first two. But none of them deserved quick and painless. And I was giving them nothing that they didn't deserve.

_And I offer no sympathy for that_

John stopped—as I knew he would—for the beautiful blonde hitchhiker who was wearing nothing more than a summer dress and sandals. He'd said that night that I was too covered up. Well, he'd already seen everything, what would be the point in covering up today? The chilly April air did not bother me. And this would be more fun, his perverse desire would prove to be his downfall.

He didn't recognize me until I was already in the car with him. He didn't see the blood-red eyes until then, either. It was then that the terror set in.

And then he screamed.

And then he suffered.

And then he died, but not before a ray of sunlight broke through the overcast sky and illuminated my face, throwing prisms into the car around me and across his own face.

_Better off, I sparkle on my own_

Another wave of terror, this time laced with awe, crossed his features right before they went completely blank.

I left the car—though it was beautiful, it had belonged to one of them—and started running back to Rochester. If I hurried back and was able to find him by tomorrow afternoon, I could still spend my wedding night with Royce.

I would never have my perfect wedding, though, huge and flowery. I would never walk down the aisle on my father's arm while everyone In town watched and thought that I was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.

_And someday, love will find me  
In the rough_

I would never sit with my husband and watch my fair haired children playing on the huge lawns of the King's estate.

I couldn't have children now, Doctor Cullen had told me. My body was frozen in time. Eternal beauty was mine, but I couldn't have children.

_Someday, love will finally  
Be enough_

Royce hadn't made it very difficult to find him. His scent still lingered throughout the streets of Rochester, he hadn't even left town. All that I had to do was follow the trail, with one small detour: a dress shop. When he looked at me, I wanted him to see the future that he would never have. I wanted him to see what he had given up the night he left me for dead, exactly one week ago. I wanted him to see what I would have looked like at our wedding. We would have been married today. And he wouldn't be dying tonight.

_I turn around three times and wound up at your door_

The coward was hiding inside a windowless room with a door as thick as a bank vault's, guarded by two armed men. I did feel regret in the moment that I snapped the necks of Royce's two bodyguards. Only a twinge, though; they were helping him, after all, and the door was the only way in.

I made their deaths as quick and painless as I could—they had done nothing to me—and then I searched them for a key. There was no need to break the door down—though it would not be difficult with my new strength—it would surely provide a nice pillow between Royce's screams and the outside world. As I searched, I thought about Royce's impending reaction.

I knew that he would recognize me, despite my altered looks. I still looked like me—beautiful Rosalie Hale—only now my beauty was intensified.

The most marked difference was in my eyes; that he would notice. He told me, not long ago, that my eyes were the color of violets. And then he added some of those to the roses that he had sent to me each night. They had made me feel special, my violet eyes. They had made me different from everyone else. Better. Well, I was still special. I was still better. Only now my eyes matched the roses instead, glowing scarlet.

I found the key in the smaller guard's boot and moved to the door.

Royce would notice the change in my eyes. And he would be terrified of me now. Because I was no longer the beautiful and innocent girl that he had courted. No. Now, I was beautiful and dangerous, like those roses with their thorns.

Well, I have my thorns too. And he would be terrified.

I opened the door, shut it, and locked it in the same moment, cutting off the only means of escape. He took one look at me and screamed.

I told him what I was, what Doctor Cullen had done to me after he had left me for dead. He screamed.

_Now you say you know all you did not know before_

His apologies meant nothing to me.

"I'm sorry, Rose."

I bent one of his fingers all of the way back. He screamed.

"Rose, we were drunk, we didn't mean it."

I punched him in the stomach, breaking a few ribs. He screamed.

_And I offer no sympathy for that_

Hours and hours later, light began to creep into the dark room through the cracks between the door and its frame. Royce lay broken and whimpering on the cold floor. His pleas for forgiveness and mercy had stopped long ago. He understood now that he would not survive this encounter. His injuries, like those that he had given me, were such that nothing except for vampire venom could save him.

"I'm going to leave you now, Royce. I'm going to leave you to die, just like you left me."

Only Carlisle wouldn't be coming along to give Royce another chance at life. He didn't deserve it.

_I hear that it was you who died alone_

I stamped on his chest with my stolen pumps one last time to ensure the breakage of every last one of his ribs. He coughed and squirmed under my foot, his eyes wandering wildly, searching for an escape from the pain.

_And I offer no sympathy for that_

It wouldn't take long now, but I needed to leave. The scent of his blood seemed to be growing stronger—something to do with the internal bleeding that I had just induced, I was sure—and I couldn't drink his blood. I would not allow myself to drink his blood.

So I unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway where the sunlight had become abundant. One last scream at the sight of my glittering skin. I took off my engagement ring, threw it at him—it embedded itself in his abdomen—and then slammed the door.

_Better off, I sparkle on my own_

I wanted to visit Vera before the Cullens and I left Rochester. But I knew that I couldn't. I was supposed to be missing, dead even. And Vera would notice the change in my appearance that I would have no explanation for. But I did peer into her window that night, just to see her one last time.

She was sitting in front of a fire, holding beautiful little Henry in her arms. They were both wearing black. Vera was mourning me and I was standing right outside of her window. It took all of my resolve to not rush into the house to comfort her. I was only able to resist because I knew that I would frighten her and the baby with my new, terrifying red eyes.

She was trying to put Henry to sleep, singing him a lullaby. Vera always did have a beautiful voice. Her husband walked in and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with love in her eyes and he kissed her forehead.

_And someday, love will find me  
In the rough_

I left the window, then. Vera would be able to be happy again, despite the loss of her friend. She would be able to be happy because she had a wonderful little family that was held together by love.

_Someday, love will finally  
Be enough_

I went to my house, through the window and into my old room for the last time. There were still bouquets of roses and violets lying around. They were all dying by now.

In the bottom drawer of my nightstand I found what I was looking for; the cards from every bouquet of flowers that Royce had sent to me.

_I got your love letters_

Every one of them had the same inscription. _To my Rose. From your King._ It was stupid, really. It was juvenile. But I had saved every single card.

_I threw them all away_

I'd burn them all as soon as I had the chance.

* * *

I had to do something. It was infuriating, the way Edward always knew what I was thinking. He'd been listening this morning when I caught my reflection in a mirror. There was no longer anything strange in that reflection, barring my tremendous beauty. My eyes had faded from crimson to gold in the two years that I had spent with the Cullens. I could now walk around in public on cloudy days and receive those admiring glances that I remembered from my human days.

And then Edward told me what he thought of my beauty. He said that I was foolish to admire it, after what it had done to me.

_I hear you think that I'm crazy_

I didn't understand at first. But when I began to comprehend what he meant, it seemed so obvious. The only reason that I had been subject to the treatment that I had received that night was because I was beautiful to those men. I was beautiful to them and they had desired me. My beauty, which had always been such a defining element of who I was, had ruined me. Now, I was questioning everything that I had ever known; that's what Edward had told Carlisle, at least.

I needed to go hunting. I needed to stop thinking, to give myself over to my instincts entirely. Then Edward could just go ahead and try to pick any coherent thoughts out of my brain.

* * *

I was running. I didn't know how long I had been running, or how far I had run. I thought I might have crossed the Tennessee border a few minutes back. Regardless, I was running.

_I'm driving 95 and_

I was running away from Royce. I was running away from Edward.

_I'm driving you away_

I was running across mountains. I was running through the trees with the sunlight touching my skin every few moments. I could spare only half a thought at how much I hated that sparkle now.

_I shine a little more lately_

I was running towards the most delicious scent that I had ever smelt.

_Someday, love will find me  
In the rough_

I heard the screams first; they made me stop in my tracks. It would be unwise to let myself cross paths with a human when I was hunting.

Then I heard the roars of a grizzly bear. Was that the scent that I had been following? It was unlike any grizzly bear that I had come across in my two years as a vampire—it was better, more desirable—but there was something uniquely grizzly about it. I wanted that grizzly. I would just need to be extra cautious with a human nearby.

_Someday, love will finally  
Be enough_

I stalked through the trees, quickly and quietly. Maybe I would even be able to save the human from the violent grizzly attack.

When I reached the clearing, I froze. I saw the grizzly, but the scent was not coming from it. No, the scent was coming from the human that lay on the ground near my feet, clinging to the last threads of his life. His blood flowed freely from a gash on his arm and one on his thigh. He whimpered. A tear flowed from one of his half-closed eyes.

Trying to remember something from my mortal life was usually as difficult as a human trying to recall something from a dream. But not this time. Because in this man's face, I could clearly see Vera's little Henry. I could see his curly black hair. I could see his tears. I could even see his dimples. But it couldn't be Henry. That, I knew. Henry was still a child; it had been only two years since I had last seen him.

The grizzly snarled and moved in for the kill.

No. That bear could not harm this boy, this man, again. I wouldn't allow it. I attacked.

_Someday, love will find me  
In the rough_

I turned away from the dying grizzly bear and looked at the man once more. He was beautiful, with his light skin, his dark hair, and a drop or crimson blood flowing down his cheek.

No. I couldn't hurt him. I wouldn't let myself hurt him. I held my breath, eager to be free of the thirst that was assailing me, threatening to consume my better judgement.

I had to bring him to Carlisle. I needed him to be changed and there was no way that I would be able to stop drinking his wondrously delicious-smelling blood if I started.

The sun's rays ricocheted off of my cold, hard skin and shone as prisms across his boyish face. He opened his eyes and looked at me in wonder. What must I look like to him—this man who was so beautiful to me—what must he think of me? He closed his eyes, more prisms dancing off of his eyelids. I would despise that sparkle—and everything that went along with it—if it wasn't what gave me the strength to pick this perfect being up and run with him at a speed that would return us to Carlisle quickly. Because he was perfect. And he was everything that I had wanted. And I loved him, right then and there. And even if he hated me in the future for what I was going to have done to him, even if he refused to see me after Carlisle had finished, I would know that, because of me, he had another chance at life. And that was enough.

_Someday, love will finally  
Be enough_

As I ran, dodging trees and bounding over boulders, he opened his eyes again and looked at me. The sunlight still danced across my skin. Once more his eyes filled with wonder and a serene expression crossed his face—as if he was at peace and felt completely safe—before he closed them. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. In reality, I was the most dangerous thing that he had ever come across; but to him, I was the knight in shining armor, come to the rescue.

_I shine a little more lately_

* * *

A/N: Get it? Rosalie is the 'diamond in the rough'. So, love it? Hate it? Indifferent to it? Things you like about it? Things you don't like about it? Please let me know.


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